The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) highlighted its leadership and continued success leveraging Public-Private Partnership (P3) delivery at the recent P3 Conference & Expo 2024 (P3C) in Dallas, Texas. The P3C is an annual infrastructure conference that promotes alternative project delivery methods to effectively advance, build, finance, and maintain America’s essential infrastructure. Georgia DOT was well represented at the conference with Commissioner Russell R. McMurry, P.E., as a keynote speaker at the conference’s inaugural welcome session along with Tennessee DOT Commissioner Butch Eley. Georgia DOT Deputy Chief Engineer Marc Mastronardi, P.E., spoke on the unique challenges associated with P3 procurements and better balancing risk among the owner and developer, and Senior Counsel Helen Pinkston-Pope was a panelist at the closing session offering words of wisdom on maximizing success with P3s.   

“We were honored to be so engaged at this important conference as we promote all that Georgia has to offer; a strong and business friendly economy, growing population, and traffic, all key ingredients for successful public-private partnerships” McMurry said. “Georgia has a large portfolio of projects ahead of us and we need to ensure we are in tune with the private sector. A such, we continue to adapt our approach delivering our current P3 projects and P3s in the pipeline based on feedback from our industry partners. We value our current partnerships and are excited for continued strong competitive interest as we make significant progress on the advancement of our P3 project portfolio.”

Many of the state’s current and upcoming P3 projects are part of the Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP), which includes variations of Design-Builds and P3 delivery approaches. The statewide program focuses on improving safety and mobility while boosting Georgia’s competitiveness, ensuring that Georgia remains the No. 1 state for business. Significant progress has been made to advance several of these much-needed transportation projects in some of the Georgia’s most congested regions. The MMIP projects that have been identified for P3 delivery include: 

• I-285/I-20 East Interchange (under construction)

• I-285/I-20 West Interchange (in active procurement)

• SR 400 Express Lanes (in active procurement) 

• I-285 Express Lanes (RFI released March 1st, 2024)

• I-75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes (in development)

Georgia DOT and the State Road and Tollway Authority recently began the P3 demand risk delivery procurement for SR 400 Express Lanes project with a developer selection anticipated in August 2024. On March 1, 2024, Georgia DOT released the I-285 Express Lanes East – Request for Information (RFI). The RFI is seeking feedback from private-sector entities that may be interested in participating in a future procurement for the design, construction, financing, tolling, operation, maintenance, and hand back of the I-285 Express Lanes. The continued advancement of P3 projects has further solidified the state’s leadership in innovative alternative delivery. 

“The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes project was the state’s first Design-Build-Finance (DBF) project and was opened in 2018 to almost immediate success – reducing rush hour by over an hour in both the morning and evening commutes,” Mastronardi said. “We’re wrapping up construction activities on the transformative I-285/SR 400 Interchange project and construction is progressing nicely on our latest P3 project, the I-285/I-20 East Interchange. The emergence and benefits of P3 delivery is impacting what matters most – completing projects that may otherwise be unattainable under the traditional public-improvement delivery models.”

“Much has changed in how we deliver P3s since our first P3 project, Northwest Corridor Express Lanes,” McMurry said. “However, our commitment to the safe, efficient movement of people and goods has not. We are in a prime position to be responsive to future transportation infrastructure needs through continued dialogue with our industry partners and other state DOT peers. As changes within the P3 market emerge, we will be ready to react in a manner that minimizes risk and maximizes competition and value to the taxpayer.”

Georgia DOT serves with a mission to deliver a transportation system focused on innovation, safety, sustainability, and mobility. For more information about Georgia DOT’s P3 Program and portfolio of projects, visit the following website: https://www.dot.ga.gov/GDOT/Pages/P3.aspx.